10 Point Scoring System Abolished By Korean MMA Promotion

The new ‘unlimited’ scoring system will supposedly make MMA fights even more exciting…

South Korean MMA promotion ROAD FC joins ONE FC in a big announcement for the end of 2015. As the latter introduced a new ‘walking weight’ policy following a fighter’s tragic death this year, Road FC hopes to also blaze a trail in the MMA world. Say goodbye to the 10-point must system, as ROAD FC introduces a radical new ‘unlimited’ scoring system.

The current and globally accepted method of MMA scoring is based on the boxing format, and generally translates terribly.

The changes explained by ROAD planning director Jake Kwon:

“We are trying to go our own way – the ROAD FC way,” Kwon told MMAjunkie. “These days, almost all promotions follow the Unified Rules of MMA. But that is not a standard. There is no fixed standard or set of rules for the sport internationally. We don’t want to compare ourselves with any promotion. ROAD FC is just ROAD FC. The most important reason (to change the scoring) – the fighting reason – is to make fighters more active. These days, many fighters just keep their position on the ground to take the points, but our audience doesn’t like that type of fight. They want excitement, so we want to encourage our fighters to be more exciting. That’s why we changed the system they will be judged by.”

“Things will be more exciting,” he said. “After two or three events, there won’t be any fighters who want to keep the fight on the ground just to wait out the points. Actually, they will be losing points and that is totally different from the way they are used to fighting. … We devised this judging system to bring MMA back to its original intent. MMA has become highly developed and many fighters are very skillful, but this has sacrificed some of the excitement for the wider audience. The intent of the new point system, including the penalties deducted for stalling and for not engaging in action, is to encourage the fighters to finish their fights.”

It’s all good in the narrative from the company representative, but how will it work in practice? The new scoring system is broken down as follows:

A) 1 point awarded for each:

• Clear connecting strike (legal punch, kick, knee)
• Successful takedown
• Achieving full mount or back mount position
• Clear control in ground position
• Near submission
• Clear aggression

B) 5 points awarded for each:

• Clear connecting strike (legal punch, kick, knee) that knocks down opponent
• Slam that causes damage

C) 5 points deducted for each yellow card penalty (per referee)

• Use or attempted use of an illegal technique
• Second strike to the groin, intentional or non-intentional
• Deliberate attempt to halt bout

D) 2 points deducted for blue card penalty (per referee)

• Deliberate failure to engage in striking
• Deliberate stalling in a grounded position by holding

Sound complicated? Well imagine trying to score this in a live action fight, this could well lead to more exciting fights, but will it be a trail blazer for more accurate and concise MMA scoring?

Stay tuned.